Chemical Party
by Crittab
Summary: Complete - A party forces Peyton to remember a part of her past which she had tried so hard to forget. Set during season one. Jeyton, Naley, Brucas.


Disclaimer: I dont own OTH, or the name of the fic, which is a song by Gavin DeGraw.

Setting: Season one

Pairings: Brucas, Jeyton, Naley

**Chemical Party  
**  
_I feel like I'm floating. I don't know what's happening around me, just that I'm having a hell of a lot of fun. I've never felt weightless before_, Haley thought. She looked around the room she was in, feeling as though she were looking in from the outside at herself, at her friends, at her acquaintances.

She looked to her left, seeing Peyton and Jake standing against the wall, talking about nothing in particular.

She looked right, seeing Lucas making out with Brooke up against the wall. She looked in the small circle she was a part of: Tim and a few other guys were passing a joint around. Nathan was sitting behind Haley, his arms tenderly across her midsection.

"We should go, he said. She turned to look at him and shook her head," he whispered to her.

"I'm not ready yet," she said. He raised an eyebrow.

"You're high. We need to get you out of here." She smiled serenely and shook her head again.

"I don't want to, _Nate_," she said, over-pronouncing his name. He shook his head and stood, holding out his hand.

"Come on, I'll take you home," he said. She shook her head, but found herself lending him her hand despite that.

"You guys want to go?" he asked Peyton and Jake as they reached the door next to them. Peyton nodded enthusiastically.

"Bout time, I thought you'd never ask," she said. He grinned and shook his head.

"I considered not asking," he joked.

"Lame," Jake added.

"I'm going to get Haley to the car, can you guys tear Brooke and Lucas apart long enough to get them to the car?"

"No problem. Well be there in a few minutes," Peyton said, crossing the large room with Jake's hand in her own, stepping over the bodies of people passed out, both from being drunk, and from the low after being high.

Nathan led Haley out, taking much of her weight in his arms. She was losing her high.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I'm taking you home, remember?" he asked. She furrowed her brow and shook her head, trying turn back in the direction of Tim's house.

"I don't want to," she argued. Nathan caught her by the midsection before she could get too far. "Hey!" she said, loudly. She fought against him, much more than necessary.

"Come on, Haley, we need to go home," he said, speaking as though she were a child. He knew she'd been drinking that night, but after she got intoxicated Tim and a few other guys pulled out joints. When Nathan wasn't in the room and others weren't paying attention, they had handed the joint to Haley; being drunk she didn't realize exactly what was going on. By the time Nathan got back to the room she was high.

"I'm not ready," she shouted. She crossed her arms in front of her indignantly. He tried to put his hand on the small of her back, but she shrugged him away. "Leave me alone!" she screamed. He pulled away, standing at a safe distance, when Peyton, Jake, Lucas and Brooke came out.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked, rushing down to where Haley and Nathan were standing.

"She's high," Nathan said. Lucas looked to Haley, who had begun laughing.

"How'd that happen?" Lucas asked. He had been so engrossed with groping Brooke he hadn't noticed Haley smoking the pot.

"Well, genius, I'd suspect she got hold of one of the joints they were passing around," Nathan said. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"No shit. I mean how'd she get one? Weren't you there?" he asked, incriminating his brother knowingly.

"No, I was calling my mother to tell her when I'd be home," Nathan said. Lucas nodded.

"Well we can't take her home like this," Lucas said. Peyton stepped forward.

"Drop her at my house. I'll take care of her until she's over it." Nathan regarded Peyton appreciatively.

"Thanks." He looked over at Haley, who was still laughing hysterically. "Now how do we get her in the car?" Peyton rolled her eyes.

"You guys are helpless. And P.S, Brooke, you're staying with me, I'm not taking a hung-over Haley on by myself," she said, walking over to Haley. She put a hand on her shoulder.

"Haley?" she said. Haley tried to look up at her, but her head was too heavy, which she seemed to find hysterical. "Look at me," she demanded softly. She put her hand under Haley's chin and raised her head.

"What?" Haley asked through her laughter.

"Were going to take you to my house."

"Like a slumber party?" Haley asked, still laughing.

"Well, yeah, I guess so. It's going to be a fun slumber party with Brooke and you and me," Peyton said. Haley nodded.

"Okay," she agreed. Peyton smiled.

"Good, now let's get in the car, okay?" she asked. Haley swallowed heavily and nodded. Peyton put her hand on her back and led her to the car.

"Nathan, do you have a bucket, or bag or something in here?" she called from the car. Nathan's brow furrowed.

"There's a bag for garbage," he answered, coming up to the car with the rest of the group trailing.

"We're going to need it. The way she's coming down, there's no way she'll get all the way to my house without hurling." She climbed in the car next to Haley, keeping Haley's head up, which was heavy and hanging low to her chest. Nathan nodded and pulled the bag out of the glove compartment handing it to her. The rest climbed into the car and Nathan got on his way while Peyton tended to Haley.

When they arrived at Peyton's house, Haley had since passed out on Peyton's shoulder. Nathan carried her into Peyton's house, setting her up in the guest room bed, while Peyton took the wonderful task of discarding the garbage bag, which was full, of course.

"Can you two handle this?" Nathan asked when Brooke and Peyton came into the room. Peyton nodded.

"Yeah, we've got it covered," she said. Nathan sat down next to Haley, just taking in her pale visage, when Jake and Lucas came in.

"You did well, tonight," Jake said to Peyton. She smiled and kissed him lightly.

"Thanks."

"So, how did you know what to do?" he asked. She shrugged.

'Chalk it up to experience, I guess. So, I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

"Should I call later, or no?" he asked. She shook her head.

"It's better to keep the phones quiet, Haley's going to have a killer headache when she wakes up." Jake nodded.

"Don't hesitate to call if..."

"If I need anything, I got it. It'll be fine, don't worry," she said with a smile. He looked down at her lovingly and kissed her forehead.

"I know, but I'm going to need to keep Nathan from freaking out during the car ride. You have any material for me?" he asked. Peyton laughed.

"Tell him other than a hangover and bad breath, she's going to be absolutely fine." Jake laughed and kissed her once more.

"Will do."

Lucas looked down at Brooke.

"Take good care of her," he said. She smiled and nodded.

"I will," she said softly. He kissed her and looked over at Haley, concerned.

"Call me if you guys need anything at all. I'm just like two minutes away," he said. She smiled and shook her head.

"Peyton's pretty capable, don't worry," she said, being the only person there who understood exactly what made Peyton so capable.

"I'm going to worry until Hales is back to normal, but thanks for the encouragement."

"It's just a hangover Luke. The worst case scenario is an aversion to vodka," she said. Lucas laughed and kissed her once more.

Nathan leaned down close and whispered to Haley.

"Get better, baby. I love you," he said softly into her ear. She didn't move or noise to acknowledge that she'd heard him. He kissed her forehead lightly, noticing that she was burning up. He pulled away and walked over to the door with his friends.

"We should get out of here," he said. The guys looked at him and nodded. "She's burning up, Pey. Could you get a cold cloth on her forehead?"

"I've got it covered. I'll see you in the morning," she said, ushering them out. When she heard the door close downstairs, she released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"Memories?" Brooke asked. Peyton looked over at her sadly.

"Unfortunately." She pulled herself out of the doorway to get a cold cloth, while Brooke walked over to Haley's bedside.

"Hey tutor girl," she said in a soft whisper. "Ready to come out of your little drug induced coma?" she asked. Haley made no moves or noises except for the constant rhythm of her breathing." Okay, no problem. I can do this all night," she said. Peyton came back in the room with a pot of cold water and a cloth. Wringing it out, she placed it across Haley's forehead.

"You okay?" Brooke asked. Peyton sat in a chair in the corner of the room and sighed.

"I did not want to have to do this again," she said, putting her head in her hands. Brooke came over and squeezed onto the chair next to Peyton, slinging her arm across her shoulders.

"Hey, it's a once in a lifetime thing for Haley. You won't have to do it again," she said. Peyton shrugged.

"I hope not. "

"No, you won't. Trust me." Peyton smiled at her friend, laying her head on Brookes shoulder.

"You're a really great friend, you know that?"

"Thanks," Brooke said in a soft whisper.

"No, really. I don't know how I would have gotten through my life without you," Peyton said. Brooke looked over at her.

"Is this going to turn into a hallmark moment? Because if it is I'm going to have to bail," she said. Peyton laughed.

"No Hallmark, promise," she said. Brooke laughed.

"If it makes a difference, I couldn't have gotten through my life without you either." Peyton smiled.

"Well, I guess that makes us even then."

"An eye for an eye, friend," she said. Peyton nodded.

"Did you ever tell Luke about my mother?" Peyton asked. Brooke shook her head.

"It's not my story to tell," she said. Peyton nodded.

"I haven't told Jake either. Sometimes I feel like I should, other times it scares me because I don't know what his reaction would be," she said. Brooke nodded.

"You should tell him."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I mean, Jakes a great guy. Hey, if you can understand about him having a daughter, he can understand about your mother," she rationalized.

"I know, but it's just so scary. Everyone _knows_ she died in a car accident. I just don't know what he'd think if I told him it was a lie," she said. Brooke smiled.

"I think he'd want to help you get over that. He'd want to devote his world to making you forget about her problems, even if only for a second. He'd spend all of his time trying to bring a smile to your face," Brooke said. Peyton smiled at her.

"How poetic," she said. Brooke laughed.

"Well I'm just full of surprises," she said. Peyton was about to respond, but a noise came from Haley. Peyton pulled herself out of the chair and walked over to the bed. Haley's eyes were open, if only a little.

"Hey there," Peyton said softly. Brooke walked over too, and softly spoke.

"We didn't think you'd be up for another couple of hours." Haley tried to let her eyes adjust to the dark of the room.

"I'm going to throw up," she said bluntly. Brooke rushed across the room and grabbed a garbage can and brought it over just in time. The sat Haley up and Peyton held her hair, while Brooke whispered things to her, calming her.

By morning this ritual had been repeated several times. Eventually all three just passed out from exhaustion on the bed and slept through until late the next morning.

It was nearly noon when Jake, Nathan and Lucas all entered the room. Jake shook Peyton awake, after the three men had watched the scene for a few moments.

"Morning," he said softly to her. She pulled herself up groggily and smiled.

"Morning," she whispered.

"Sleep well?" he asked. Peyton laughed humourlessly.

"We were up till three with Haley puking," she said. Nathan looked worried.

"Is she okay?" Peyton looked over to him and whispered, trying not to wake Haley and Brooke.

"She's fine, don't worry. She's just a little messed up," she said. Nathan nodded and walked over looking down at Haley.

"Did her temperature come down at all?" Lucas asked. Peyton nodded.

"It's normal. She's fine," she said. Lucas smiled.

"How's Brooke?"

"Brooke's just fine. She needs her beauty sleep though, believe me," Peyton said, causing the three men to laugh.

"Hey, if you want to get some fresh air, Lucas and I can stay here," Nathan said, knowing Jake had wanted a little time alone with Peyton. She smiled.

"Thanks. If she wakes up before I get up, give her two Advil and lots of water, and make sure she stays laying down," Peyton said. Nathan nodded.

"I've got it covered. Now go," he said. Peyton smiled and left the room with Jake.

The pair walked down the street, hand in hand in silence, until Jake broke it.

"You never did tell me how you learned to do that," he said. Peyton regarded him fondly.

"Do what?"

"Take care of Haley like that," he said. Peyton nodded.

"I've had experience," she said. He nodded.

"I gathered that," he said. They were silent for a moment.

"My mother was an addict," she said, interrupting the silence. Jake nodded, but stayed silent to hear what else she had to say. "She used to come home after work and get high. When she did, my dad and I would take care of her. Sometimes my dad would be away on work, so I took care of her on my own"

"Was she high the night of her accident?" he asked. Peyton stopped and looked up at him.

"There was no accident, Jake. She overdosed on meth. They tried to revive her, but by the time we got her to the hospital it was too late. She had gone into a drug induced coma and never woke up." Jake was at a loss for words. He was shocked.

"I'm sorry," he said, knowing nothing else that he could insert into that conversation. She smiled sadly.

"But hey, we got money because she died, and she stopped spending all of our money of drugs, so it kind of worked out for the best, right?" Peyton said, trying to lighten things up. Jake didn't laugh.

"Why have you been telling people she was in a car accident?" he asked. She shrugged.

"It's kind embarrassing. No one wants to go into bring your parent to school day and say 'Hey, this is my mom, the drug addict'." Jake nodded his understanding.

"I'm glad you told me," he said. She nodded.

"So am I," she said softly. He leaned down and kissed her lips softly.

"You ready to head back?" he asked. She nodded.

"We better. I don't think the guys will have any idea what to do when Brooke wakes up," she said. Jakes brow furrowed.

"Brooke?"

"Yeah. She's going to be pissed that they saw her without make up," she said. Jake laughed and put his arm around her waist, pulling her close as they walked back to her house. Haley would definitely would be needing someone with experience that day. And the guys would need Peyton to save them from Brooke's wrath as well.

**A/N: Well, this is a fic I wrote a very very VERY long time ago (I'm talking, season one). But to this day, it's still one of my favourites, and I felt I should share it with you kind folks on ff .net Let me know what you thought.**


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